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Election 2020 updates: Biden warns of 'dark winter,' pushes masks in pandemic plan

The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response.

ByCatherine Thorbecke, Morgan Winsor, Libby Cathey, Adia Robinson, Lauren King, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, and Marc Nathanson
Last Updated: November 10, 2020, 10:14 AM EST

Joe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump. ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency.

The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate.

Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed.

Painting the election as a "battle for the soul of the nation," Biden won on a message of unity over division, compassion over anger, and reality over what he called Trump's "wishful thinking" as the coronavirus pandemic cast a heavy shadow over the campaign.

The 2020 election has shattered voting records with votes totaling 147 million and counting, surpassing the 138 million who voted in 2016.

Top headlines:

Here's how election week unfolded. All times Eastern.
Nov 07, 2020, 5:43 PM EST

Biden’s lead grows slightly in Arizona 

With new numbers in from Apache and Coconino counties, Biden’s lead has widened slightly in Arizona. 

Biden's vote lead has jumped back up to 21,188 votes. He still leads 49.5% to Trump's 48.9%. 

The Arizona Secretary of State's office has not provided specific guidance on timing of the estimated 120,000 outstanding votes. 

It has, however, updated its website showing a more detailed look at which votes are outstanding. 

There are an estimated 12,199 early ballots waiting for signature verification, an estimated 45,507 provisional ballots left to process and an estimated 61,472 ballots waiting for tabulation, the office said. 

- ABC News’ Meg Cunningham

Nov 07, 2020, 5:35 PM EST

CISA assures Americans of ‘safeguards’ to protect the accuracy of election results

In an update to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Rumor Control page, the agency assured Americans that there are robust safeguards in place to ensure accuracy of election results. 

“The systems and processes used by election officials to tabulate votes and certify official results are protected by various safeguards that help ensure the accuracy of election results,” the agency, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, said.

It continued: “These safeguards include measures that help ensure tabulation systems function as intended, protect against malicious software, and enable the identification and correction of any irregularities.”

Nov 07, 2020, 5:16 PM EST

Trump breaks silence on Twitter

Trump has tweeted his first reaction to Biden's apparent win to be the next president of the United States, falsely claiming in an all-caps tweet that he won the election.

He also pushed the unfounded claim that observers weren't allowed in to watch ballots be counted, which is not true.

Nov 07, 2020, 4:17 PM EST

Biden leads Georgia by 7,547 votes 

Biden is leading Georgia by 7,547 votes, which is is well within the margin needed for a candidate to request a recount. The margin must be less than 0.5% of total votes cast in the race, and with the vote that has been reported, the margin would need to be fewer than 24,895 votes. 

There are no automatic/mandatory recounts in Georgia.

A recount cannot be officially requested until the results are certified. The deadline for the state to certify the election is Nov. 20.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

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